The Epistle to the Galatians is one of the first letters written by Paul, along with the First Letter to the Thessalonians. The Epistle to the Galatians is addressed to several churches in that region, which Paul had visited during his first two missionary journeys. The purpose of this letter is closely related to the First Council of Jerusalem, which, among other things, sought to resolve whether Christians should be circumcised or not. The council did not resolve the fundamental issue, so Paul expressed his theological thoughts on the matter in the letter, among other things.
The truth is that in those times, a schism was approaching because some Christians of Jewish origin demanded that before entering into the Church, all the prescriptions of Moses were fulfilled, which the Christians of pagan origin refused to do. The situation was delicate, and Paul made a very important theological contribution on the matter.
For Paul, salvation and blessedness could not be attained by fulfilling imperatives or commands, but by living a righteous life through faith in Jesus. This is why Paul expressed in his letter: "For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" Galatians 5:5-6.
For Paul, faith could not be reduced to masks or appearances, the law was impossible to fulfill in its entirety, and the gifts of the spirit were poured out through faith, and not through the law. This is why Paul continued his teaching in his epistle: "They are circumcised, but they don't obey the Law of Moses. All they want is to brag about having you circumcised" Galatians 6:13.
A new spiritual alliance between God and men had been created with Jesus, and Paul was preaching a radical change; living the gifts, living according to the spirit, was the path taught by Jesus to attain salvation and the gift of eternal life (contemplative life). According to Paul, the true mission of a Christian is to serve Jesus and his glory by serving the Kingdom of God, the empire or dominion of divine perfections. Over time, Paul's theology prevailed, and the Christian religion completely separated from Judaism.
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